1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication system, a communication method, and a computer readable recording medium for recording a program for executing the communication method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, many research studies have been done on application of the information communication technology to fields where devices disposed in close vicinity to a human body are used, such as health and medical care. The institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee proposed the 802.15.6 standard protocol for the purpose of low-power local area wireless communication for Body Area Network (BAN) applications.
The 802.15.6 protocol defines a physical (PHY) layer and a medium access control (MAC) sublayer for the wireless BAN (also referred to as WEAN) operating in-body, on-body, or off-body. Here, the “body” is not limited to the human body and includes bodies of animals and organisms having propagation environment similar to the human body.
According to the 802.15.6 protocol, a device belonging to a BAN serves as a hub or a node. One hub and one or more nodes form an independent network. Since a communication device, in particular, a mobile device included in the network is often powered by a small battery, it is important to reduce power consumption in order to increase device operating time of the device.
As an example of a technology for saving the battery life, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-519439 published on Aug. 23, 2012, discloses a wireless sensor network including a device for determining a suitable sleep pattern based on detected parameter values and a current battery charge level and transmitting the sleep pattern to a different device included in the network, which controls its operation based on the sleep pattern.